Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire Mk XVIe - Part 1

For my next project I'll be building the Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire Mk XVIe.  This was one of the Spitfire variants to feature a bubble-top canopy, clipped wings and a combination of 20mm cannon and .50 cal machine guns.

Such Amaze - Very Doge!

OK here is the box picture featuring a lovely depiction of the Mk XVIe with an identification code that is reminiscent of a popular internet meme.

...and here is a picture of Doge for comparison.

As you can see they are quite different.  Although it would amuse me to put Doge in the cockpit of a Spitfire with an id code that looks like its name, I'll be doing a different marking for this plane.  I'll also be using the Big Ed set from Eduard for this build.

I quite like aircraft #1 and aircraft #3 on the decal sheet.

Being a Tamiya kit I am expecting it to fall together quite easily and be quite detailed.  The sprues of the fuselage and wings have some lovely surface detail which I hope to bring out with careful painting.

There's a lot of plastic in this kit including a wonderfully detailed engine, which I will add wiring to from lead wire, and a great cockpit.

The kit comes with a stand and some of the technical innovations that Tamiya have put into it allow it to be posed with interchangeable wheels so you can have it in a flying position or a landed position whenever you feel like it.

They have also moulded the thinnest cowling covers I have ever seen.  They even include tiny neodymium magnets which are hidden in the airframe allowing the cowlings to cling on without falling off.

The canopy is very clear but has a seam line running down the centre.  Should be easy to take care of though.

The Eduard Big Ed set has a fair selection of extra detailing bits.  I don't intend on using all of them though.

Lastly I'll be using the following references and some Google searches to try to keep this as authentic as possible.

I'll be starting this tomorrow.

Academy 1/48 Mig-29A - Final Reveal

Back to part 13

I did say that there was a little bit left to do.  Well, it took me too long to do it but finally the Mig-29 is finished.  The Academy kit is OK considering its age however the after market goodies really bring it up to date.  I set out to make Red 77, a Polish Mig-29A and I think I have captured a fiar likeness of it.  For a reminder here's the original aircraft

...and here's my version of Red 77.

1/48 Hobby Boss Ta 152 C-0 - Final Reveal Pictures.

Back to part 5.

The Final Reveal

Here are the final reveal pictures for the Hobby Boss Ta 152 C-0.  This was good kit and a fun build.  There were some accuracy issues which were corrected along the way but now it's a good representation of one of the rarest fighters built during WWII.

 

1/48 Hobby Boss Ta 152 C-0 - Part 5

Back to part 4.

The Home Stretch

We're getting to the finish line for this one.  I gave the model a primer coat using the Vallejo primer.  I really like the way this primer lays down a smooth coat.  It's also self leveling so any spatters just blend right in.

Once the primer was dry the model was inspected for any imperfections.  The seam on the bottom was still faintly visible so a bit of Mr Surfacer was used to cover it up.  This was then carefully sanded flush and re-primed.

Here's where I got a bit lazy and didn't take too many photos.  The model was given a preshade using Vallejo black along the panel lines.  Then Alclad II metallic paints were used to paint the exposed metal areas under the wings.  Two shade of aluminium were used to give a subtle contrast.  This was then masked off and the main camouflage colours were sprayed. RLM 76 for the undersides and RLM 75 and RLM 83 for the upper surfaces.  A couple of gloss coats, and then the decals were applied.

Another gloss coat was applied to seal the decals in and then a wash with Flory Models Dark Dirt was applied.  This was wiped away so thet it remained in the panel lines and a final flat coat was applied.  Then all that was left was fixing the final parts.  You can see the corrected spinner and new propeller blades.  

The propeller was assembled in preparation for painting in RLM 70.  It's a much better representation than the kit prop or any of the after market or spares that I had.

The tail wheel was fitted with a small pin so that it could be cemented securely but offset a little.

Finally it's up on it's legs.

With the prop on, main wheels, antennas, canopy and a little bit of staining from the guns and exhausts it's done.  Thanks for having a look.  Follow the link below to see the final reveal pictures.

Final reveal pictures are here.

1/48 Hobby Boss Ta 152 C-0 - Part 4

Back to part 3

Hello again.  It's been a long time since I last updated this but my build of this aircraft continues with some work on the propeller and spinner.  I also get the wings on.

You Spin Me Right Round

I mentioned right at the beginning that I didn't think that the spinner or prop blades were right in this kit.  The aircraft I am building had a spinner design seen on the Ta152 H prototypes and on some Fw190 D prototypes.  You can see in the photo below that a defining feature of this spinner is the large hole in the end.

This feature is missing from the kit spinner.

In an attempt to rectify this I bought the Quickboost spinner and propeller replacements.  It was not much better than the kit so I needed to source a more correct spinner.  I think I got close with the Engines and Things conversion set for the Fw 190 D-11.  The three choices are shown in the image below.  On the left is the Engines and Thing spinner, in the middle is the kit spinner and on the right is the Quickboost spinner.  You can see they're all quite different.

I resolved to start with the Engines and Things spinner and modify it to match my references.  Frankly its a pretty awful casting so there will be a fair bit of work to get it to the state that I want.

Similarly the propeller blades are the wrong shape.  The actual aircraft has large paddle shaped props as shown below.

None of the alternatives I had to hand were quite right.  In the picture below from left to right we have the Engines and Things prop, the kit prop, the Quickboost prop and some I had in my spares box from the Dragon Ta 152H.  They are all different shapes but the closest is the one from the Dragon kit.

I opted to use the Dragon one as a basis for making my own.  First I got measurements of the correct length from some plans I have in one of my references.  This showed the Dragon blade to be too short by about 1mm.  The trailing edge of the Dragon blade is also wrong where it begins to flare out.  I traced the Dragon blade on paper using a pencil and made corrections to the drawing using a fine marker.  I then used the corrected drawing as a template to correct the shape.  I started by cutting the trailing edge off the Dragon blade and attached plasticard using plenty of super glue.

This was then shaped to match the drawing and the trailing edges thinned down.  Here you can see the almost completed blade next to the original Dragon version.

It's taller, more pointed and slightly wider.  Once finished it will be cast in resin to make exact duplicates.

With the propeller blade completed I finished up the main assembly by gluing the wings on.

The wing and tailplane joints were pretty good.  A little more assembly and we're almost ready for paint.

In the next update we'll get some paint. and decals on.

On to part 5.

Hobby Boss 1/48 Ta-152 C-0 - Part 3

Back to part 2

Welcome back.  In this update I work on the rear of the engine, start work on the wings, sort out the radiator and fix a large gap in the wheel wells.

Power Egg

In the Ta-152 and in the Fw 190D from which it is derived the rear of the engine can be seen through the wheel wells.  Hobby Boss have allowed for this in the form of the rear part of a DB603E engine.  This is quite details as can be seen from the number of parts required to assemble it.

It does assemble into a rather nice representation of the back part of the engine.  Pity there's no representation of the engine bearers though.

I did add a bit more detail using some lead wire before painting it.

Winging it

Assembly of the wings commences with the main spar which sits at the rear of the wheel wells.  This part had six ejection pin marks which needed to be taken care of.  I've coloured them in with a black marker pen to make them easier to see and to to indicate when they have been sanded out.

The lower wing section is moulded with gates that sit above the gluing surface.  Care is needed to remove these without making a dip in the plastic.  There was also a fair amount of flash on the leading edge which needed sanding off.

Given the wheel wells were to be painted RLM 02 grey I took the opportunity to prepare the insides of the gear doors too.  Also I removed the bottom section of the tail wheel.  Remember I have posed the rudder pedals off centre so I am going to have to reattach the tail wheel off centre as well.

Don't Blow a Fuse

After painting the internals the fuselage was glued together.  The fit was pretty good but there was some pressure needed on the instrument shroud which I tacked with super glue before gluing the rest.

The cowl was then glued in place.  Hobby Boss give you two cowls - one has a large hump on the left hand side and the other a smaller hump.  This is because the supercharger of the production, C-1, model was larger as it was to use the DB603LA engine.  For a this pre-production, C-0, model the cowling with the smaller hump is correct since the DB603E was used.  The fit was pretty good.

Amputation

I mentioned in an earlier part that the Hobby Boss kit has the wrong radiator arrangement.  This is corrected with a replacement from Quickboost.  Here the patient is being prepared for surgery.  The tub of water is for sanding the resin replacement.  It keeps the dust down if you sand the resin wet.

I first cut off the nose of the kit where the radiator assembly attaches.  This was done with a razor saw and carefully sanded square.  Then I used a razor saw to remove the casting block from the resin replacement and very carefully sanded it square using coarse wet and dry sand paper and plenty of water.  Once dried the new resin radiator assembly was glued onto the fuselage.  I am happy with the fit - enough of a gap to give the impression that the radiator cooling flaps can move.

The Grand Canyon Appears

When I test fit the lower wing to the fuselage with the wheel wells in place I noticed the first major issue with the fit of this kit.  There is a massive gap between the wheel well and the wing mating surface on the fuselage.  Check out the amount of daylight you can see!

This called for extreme corrective action.  First plasticard sheet was used to extend the length of the wheel well.  I made a bit of a mess with the glue but I can clean that up later.

Once the glue had dried this sheet was then carefully trimmed to fit and a lip was glued onto the forward section.  The wheel wells were then dry fit and with a black marker were used to draw a notch on the fuselage wing mating surface.  This notch was then carefully cut out with a scriber and a sharp knife.

The wheel wells and inside the fuselage where they will mate was give a quick spray with RLM 02 grey and, hey presto, the gap has been taken care of.

That's all for this update.  In the next update I'll tackle the propeller and get the main assembly completed.

On to part 4.